The three state legislators who represent the New Jersey side of the Delaware Water Gap have (re-)reiterated their demand that the notorious S-curves on Interstate 80 through the gap be included in the state’s Long-Range Transportation Plan.
State Sen. Douglas Steinhardt and Assembly members John DiMaio and Erik Peterson sent another letter last week to the New Jersey Department of Transportation expressing their “continued and unwavering support” for the safety study, endorsing a July 31 appeal from the municipalities of Blairstown, Knowlton and Hardwick.
Requests by federal, state, county and municipal officials that the DOT include S-curve mitigation on I-80 in its Long-Range Transportation Plan have so far been met with silence.
The curves were not addressed in a preliminary draft of the document released July 1, and so far, the DOT has shown no interest in the issue. Local officials displeased, to say the least.
Lawmakers Press DOT for Action
The Long-Range Transportation Plan developed by the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority is revisited every four years. That timing presents an opportunity to reprioritize the DOT’s plans for the problem-plagued stretch of I-80 between the Delaware River Bridge and exit 4, said Tara Mezzanotte, founder of the I-80/611 Delaware Water Gap Coalition and a liaison between several North Warren communities and the DOT.
The coalition wants the DOT to shift the emphasis of the long-range plan from rockfall mitigation along the highway to resolving the S-curve problem.
The township committees of Blairstown, Hardwick and Knowlton earlier this year passed resolutions requesting that the S-curves be included in the long-range plan. In addition to the three state legislators, Congressman Tom Kean Jr. and the Warren County Board of Commissioners have passed resolutions or sent letters to the DOT supporting efforts to address the dangerous twists on I-80.
Despite this heavyweight backing, advocates of the improvements are concerned the response from the DOT so far has been lacking.
Mezzanotte noted that exclusion from the preliminary version of the plan does not necessarily mean that the issue is dead. The S-curves could still be included in the final report, which is expected to be on the Sept. 8 agenda of the Transportation Planning Authority.
The Knowlton Township Committee passed a resolution insisting that the NJPA include the S-curves.
Committee member Mike Bates said he does not let his daughter drive on the section in question.
“I won’t let her drive on that section, and I know a lot of parents who feel the same way,” Bates said.
Rockfall Mitigation Still Lingers
Advocates for modifying the S-curves have urged the DOT to reprioritize and move the issue ahead of proposed rockfall mitigation along the same stretch of highway.
The rockfall mitigation project — intended to prevent rocks and boulders from Mount Tammany, which towers over Route 80 in the heart of the Delaware Water Gap, from falling on the roadway — has been pushed back numerous times.
Municipalities on both sides of the Delaware have demanded that the DOT address the dangerous curves on I-80 just east of the Delaware River Bridge when its Long-Range Transportation Plan is updated.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
